University of Minnesota Athletics
Friday, March 8
Columbus, Ohio
5:00 PM
University of Minnesota
at
Ohio State / Nebraska
Players Mentioned
/ Men's Gymnastics
/ Men's Gymnastics
/ Men's Gymnastics
/ Men's Gymnastics
/ Men's Gymnastics
/ Men's Gymnastics
/ Men's Gymnastics
/ Men's Gymnastics
Photo by: Christopher Mitchell
Gophers Collect Two B1G Wins in Tri-Meet
3/8/2019 7:12:00 PM | Men's Gymnastics
Meet Results
The Minnesota men's gymnastics team had its final away meet of the regular season on Friday and saved some of its best for last.
The No. 6 Gophers came away with the meet victory over No. 7 Ohio State and No. 8 Nebraska with a final score of 406.300, but it wasn't easy. Minnesota was far out of the lead going into the final rotation, and head coach Mike Burns was sidelined back in Minneapolis due to illness.
"I hope I never have to miss another meet. That was the most nerve-wracking two hours of my life," Burns said. "Luckily I have two awesome assistant coaches who stepped in and got the job done in admirable fashion. And to my guys on the team, way to not let up. Way to not let an eight point deficit intimidate you. You guys ate that up and turned it into game, set, match, game over! What a moment we'll all remember for a long time to come."
The Gophers earned two wins in the standings toward the first-ever Big Ten Regular Season Championship with the victory and are now 2-2. The team also set new season highs on floor (70.300) and rings (69.600) on the way to the meet crown.
"What I'm extremely proud of, the team never gave up. They never hung up their grips and started pouting. They had a great attitude," assistant coach Konstantin Kolesnikov said. "This meet we went and we were trying to do everything with heart. We were trying to do everything we possibly could, and we did. There was a little bit of luck, but now there's hope. Now I think that the guys will trust more in the competition, have a little more confidence, and it's going to be big for the team's spirit, I'm sure of it."
Sophomore Shane Wiskus had a standout meet for the second consecutive week. He competed all-around and set a new career high score of 84.350 for the title, the new third-highest mark in the country. Wiskus also earned titles on rings (14.350) and high bar (14.350), both new career highs. He rounded out his podium finishes on the day with silvers on floor (14.550) and vault (14.700).
Seniors Justin Karstadt and Shaun Herzog also competed all-around for the Gophers on Friday. Karstadt came in second with a season-best mark of 81.900, and claimed second on pommel horse (14.250) and rings (14.250) and third on parallel bars (13.800) en route. His scores on horse and rings were season highs. Herzog took third with a score of 77.950.
Pommel Horse
Minnesota had a tough start to the day on pommel horse. The Gophers had a couple of falls, but were still able to get solid performances through the middle of the lineup from Karstadt and Kan. Karstadt delivered a season-high 14.250 for second place and a personal season high, and Kan scored a 13.000 for sixth place. Minnesota ended the rotation with a score of 62.750.
Rings
Sophomore Colton Dee started the Gophers off on rings, but they had to improvise in the No. 2 spot when sophomore Russell Johnson tweaked his elbow on pommel horse. Freshman Garrett Kasiski slotted in and scored a career-high 13.300. Wiskus also recorded a career mark of 14.350 en route to the event title. Karstadt and Herzog added season highs of 14.250 and 13.950 for second and fifth place, respectively. Despite adversity, Minnesota hit all five sets and blew its previous season high of 67.350 out of the water with a 69.600, also best of the meet.
Floor
The Gophers didn't slow down on floor and set a new season high of 70.300, which led the meet. Wiskus was Minnesota's best finisher with a score of 14.550, a new personal and team best for the year and good for second place. Kan added a stuck 14.350 to tie for fifth and Herzog tied for seventh with a score of 14.100.
Parallel Bars
Minnesota sat in second place after three rotations and kept the momentum on parallel bars. Freshman David Pochinka led the way with his second-best score of his career, 14.150, for second place. Karstadt and Herzog were not far behind with scores of 13.800 and 13.700 for third and fourth place, respectively. The Gophers scored 68.350 on the event, best of the day.
High Bar
The pressure started to mount for the Gophers in the fifth rotation, but they found ways to overcome. Wiskus, ranked No. 6 on the event, had a stellar performance and scored a career-high 14.350, besting the previous career high of 14.250 that he set just last week. Junior Timmy Kutyla was Minnesota's second-best finisher and managed to score a stuck 13.000, even with a fall, for seventh place. The Gophers finished with a 63.450.
Vault
The situation looked dire for Minnesota as the team faced an eight-point deficit heading into the last rotation. The No. 4 vault-ranked Gophers battled back and scored a 71.850 that would eventually lead to the win. Wiskus and Karstadt led the Gophers, scoring a 14.700 and 14.550 for second and fourth place, respectively. Karstadt stuck his set and managed a new season high.
The Road Ahead
Minnesota will finally return home after three weeks for its last two meets of the regular season next week. The Gophers will have a dual meet against No. 13 Air Force on Sunday, March 17 at Maturi Pavilion at 1 p.m.
The Minnesota men's gymnastics team had its final away meet of the regular season on Friday and saved some of its best for last.
The No. 6 Gophers came away with the meet victory over No. 7 Ohio State and No. 8 Nebraska with a final score of 406.300, but it wasn't easy. Minnesota was far out of the lead going into the final rotation, and head coach Mike Burns was sidelined back in Minneapolis due to illness.
"I hope I never have to miss another meet. That was the most nerve-wracking two hours of my life," Burns said. "Luckily I have two awesome assistant coaches who stepped in and got the job done in admirable fashion. And to my guys on the team, way to not let up. Way to not let an eight point deficit intimidate you. You guys ate that up and turned it into game, set, match, game over! What a moment we'll all remember for a long time to come."
The Gophers earned two wins in the standings toward the first-ever Big Ten Regular Season Championship with the victory and are now 2-2. The team also set new season highs on floor (70.300) and rings (69.600) on the way to the meet crown.
"What I'm extremely proud of, the team never gave up. They never hung up their grips and started pouting. They had a great attitude," assistant coach Konstantin Kolesnikov said. "This meet we went and we were trying to do everything with heart. We were trying to do everything we possibly could, and we did. There was a little bit of luck, but now there's hope. Now I think that the guys will trust more in the competition, have a little more confidence, and it's going to be big for the team's spirit, I'm sure of it."
Sophomore Shane Wiskus had a standout meet for the second consecutive week. He competed all-around and set a new career high score of 84.350 for the title, the new third-highest mark in the country. Wiskus also earned titles on rings (14.350) and high bar (14.350), both new career highs. He rounded out his podium finishes on the day with silvers on floor (14.550) and vault (14.700).
Seniors Justin Karstadt and Shaun Herzog also competed all-around for the Gophers on Friday. Karstadt came in second with a season-best mark of 81.900, and claimed second on pommel horse (14.250) and rings (14.250) and third on parallel bars (13.800) en route. His scores on horse and rings were season highs. Herzog took third with a score of 77.950.
Pommel Horse
Minnesota had a tough start to the day on pommel horse. The Gophers had a couple of falls, but were still able to get solid performances through the middle of the lineup from Karstadt and Kan. Karstadt delivered a season-high 14.250 for second place and a personal season high, and Kan scored a 13.000 for sixth place. Minnesota ended the rotation with a score of 62.750.
Rings
Sophomore Colton Dee started the Gophers off on rings, but they had to improvise in the No. 2 spot when sophomore Russell Johnson tweaked his elbow on pommel horse. Freshman Garrett Kasiski slotted in and scored a career-high 13.300. Wiskus also recorded a career mark of 14.350 en route to the event title. Karstadt and Herzog added season highs of 14.250 and 13.950 for second and fifth place, respectively. Despite adversity, Minnesota hit all five sets and blew its previous season high of 67.350 out of the water with a 69.600, also best of the meet.
Floor
The Gophers didn't slow down on floor and set a new season high of 70.300, which led the meet. Wiskus was Minnesota's best finisher with a score of 14.550, a new personal and team best for the year and good for second place. Kan added a stuck 14.350 to tie for fifth and Herzog tied for seventh with a score of 14.100.
Parallel Bars
Minnesota sat in second place after three rotations and kept the momentum on parallel bars. Freshman David Pochinka led the way with his second-best score of his career, 14.150, for second place. Karstadt and Herzog were not far behind with scores of 13.800 and 13.700 for third and fourth place, respectively. The Gophers scored 68.350 on the event, best of the day.
High Bar
The pressure started to mount for the Gophers in the fifth rotation, but they found ways to overcome. Wiskus, ranked No. 6 on the event, had a stellar performance and scored a career-high 14.350, besting the previous career high of 14.250 that he set just last week. Junior Timmy Kutyla was Minnesota's second-best finisher and managed to score a stuck 13.000, even with a fall, for seventh place. The Gophers finished with a 63.450.
Vault
The situation looked dire for Minnesota as the team faced an eight-point deficit heading into the last rotation. The No. 4 vault-ranked Gophers battled back and scored a 71.850 that would eventually lead to the win. Wiskus and Karstadt led the Gophers, scoring a 14.700 and 14.550 for second and fourth place, respectively. Karstadt stuck his set and managed a new season high.
The Road Ahead
Minnesota will finally return home after three weeks for its last two meets of the regular season next week. The Gophers will have a dual meet against No. 13 Air Force on Sunday, March 17 at Maturi Pavilion at 1 p.m.
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